Couples escape death for burying "fake twin babies"

Coffins in which were toys were buried in stead of new born babies at Kamsama Village in Suba North constituency.

Police in Homa Bay County are investigating a bizarre incident where a couple allegedly buried toys instead of their twins whom they claim died at birth.

The couple from Kamsama Village in Suba North, escaped death narrowly after suspicious villagers and relatives attacked them after learning they had buried toys in two small coffins on Tuesday.

Just hours

Shocked villagers said they exhumed the ‘babies’ just hours after their burial, only to find toys well draped in white sheets.

Police were yesterday afternoon holding the couple at Mbita Police Station as they investigated what led them to bury the toys.

“We are investigating many loose links and they are not yet adding up,” said an police officer involved  in the investigations and who sought anonymity.

He added: “Did the woman fake pregnancy to please her husband and lied to him that she gave birth to twins, but the babies died? Or did they conspire to sell the twins after birth?” asked the policeman.

Homa Bay County Police Commander Esther Seroney said they will take the woman to a hospital for tests to determine whether she gave birth.

“We have also confiscated the coffins and the toys which were inside them for further investigations,” said Ms Seroney.

Witnesses said the woman, in her early 30s, had told relatives that she gave birth at Kenyatta National Hospital after being referred from Kisumu’s Aga Khan Hospital, but relatives said this was not true.

Earlier, she claimed she first went to Homa Bay county hospital, but was advised to seek help in Kisumu since her pregnancy had complications.

Poked holes

A source at Aga Khan in Kisumu said they had not booked any expectant woman with the said woman’s name.

Relatives poked holes on this theory of having been to Kisumu and Nairobi,  given the quick succession with which she was transferred from these hospitals.

According to the woman’s brother-in-law Wycliffe Ogembo, she left home two weeks ago, saying she was going to deliver twins at Homa Bay.

She allegedly later told relatives that she was in Kisumu for hardly 30 minutes before being referred again to Nairobi. 

She claims to have took a flight to Nairobi but relatives also doubted this as they were from humble background. 

“Homa Bay hospital handles caesarean section cases, we also realised that she took 30 minutes at Agha Khan Hospital and was already admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital which is not possible,” said Ogembo.

The family believe the woman’s delivery was okay until she informed them on Monday that the twin babies had died.

On Tuesday, the husband, who is a carpenter, made two coffins and took them to Kabunde Airstrip, about 25 Km away, where the wife was expected to arrive with the ‘bodies’ in an aircraft.

Workers at the airstrip also said they did not see the woman arrive in an aircraft.

The whole story does not add up and we are asking the police to investigate what could be going on,” said  Ogembo.

On arrival home on Tuesday, the couple buried the ‘bodies’ within just a few minutes, giving little room for ceremonies.

This is contrary to the local culture which requires that burial arrangements are made by the extended family of the bereaved.

View body

During the arrangements, family members have to view the body.

However, nobody in the family viewed the bodies except the couple and two ‘strange’ guests in the controversial burial.

Family members who returned home a few hours later, complained of being kept in the dark over the burial. They decided to exhume the ‘bodies’ to confirm if  they were the said twins.

The process of exhuming the ‘bodies’ attracted a large crowd and when the coffins were opened, they found toys inside. The residents attempted to lynch the couple, but police arrived and rescued them. They were later detained at Mbita Police Station.